Magnolia woman tried to bilk 12 would-be renters, police claim

Published 9:04 pm, Tuesday, April 12, 2011

A Magnolia woman accused of taking deposits from a dozen would-be renters in a rental scam has been charged with felony theft.

In charging documents, King County prosecutors claim Diana J. Delaney, 63, repeatedly advertised her home for rent, took deposits and backed out of the deals.

All told, Delaney had collected $35,874 from people looking to rent the home, Seattle Police Detective Stacy Litsjo said in court documents. All but one of the renters has since been repaid.

Litsjo noted, though, that it did not appear Delaney was done trying to rent the home, and was offering other services as well.

“There is still an active ad for the house rental on Cazoodle.com and she had also placed several ads for other services such as childcare, counseling, antiques dealer, ghost writer, and an ad for a furnished corporate house with a live-in errand concierge service included in the rental,” the detective said.

According to charging documents, police began investigating Delaney in February 2009 after a woman reported that she’d put down a deposit on a home in the 3800 block of 34th Avenue West but was unable to recover it after Delaney backed out of the deal.

Like the other alleged victims, the woman had responded to an advertisement posted online by Delaney. The investigation was closed after Delaney repaid the money.

In December, Litsjo told the court she began receiving additional reports of a “possible scam artist” operating in the same matter. The alleged victims identified the purported landlord as Delaney, and Listjo called her to discuss the allegations.

“She called me back later that afternoon and told me that it was a misunderstanding,” Litsjo said. “She said that she could get money orders for them.”

Confronted at her home on Dec. 16, Delaney said she was returning the money to two of the families who’d paid her about $3,450 a piece in deposits.

Delaney said “she was not a criminal and had every intention to pay back the money,” Litsjo told the court.

The detective delivered money orders from Delaney to one of the couples and contacted another by phone. Litsjo told the court she returned to her desk and was contacted by Delaney’s bank, where Delaney had just deposited another deposit check.

The detective contacted a Georgia couple who believed they were about to rent Delaney’s home. Like another couple, they planned to come to Seattle for an extended visit with family and were looking to rent a furnished home.

Litsjo then contacted Delaney’s landlord, who owns the Magnolia home Delaney had attempted to rent out. The landlord told the detective he hadn’t been told his tenant was subletting the home or given her permission to do so.

In the days that followed, Delaney phoned several times to say she was in the process of repaying the would-be renters, Litsjo told the court. The detective said she was also able to track down nine others who’d written Delaney deposit checks on the home.

Charged with one count of first-degree theft and three counts of third-degree theft, Delaney has not been jailed.